• Urges UBA to support trainee
By Ejiro Gold
The Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has described the viral episode involving a young woman in UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, GMAP, and the bank’s Chairman, Tony Elumelu, as “a class war, not a culture clash.”
The trainee came under intense public scrutiny after she addressed the UBA Group Chairman by his first name in a video that circulated online.
In a statement on Friday, Sowore said a senior management official at @UBAGroup had reached out to him regarding his views on the incident.
He argued that the outrage was rooted in hierarchy and class consciousness, not African culture or respect.
“In my view, this was not a ‘culture clash’; it was a class war, a reflection of the deeply entrenched hierarchy and class consciousness that too often determines who is considered entitled to demand deference and who is expected to provide it,” he said.
He gave an example to illustrate his point:
“If Tony @TonyOElumelu’s son or daughter addressed the family gateman or driver by his first name, hardly any Nigerian would bat an eyelid.
“In fact, many of the same people outraged by this young woman calling him ‘Tony’ would probably expect the gateman or driver to address Elumelu’s children with exaggerated deference. That tells you immediately that this argument is not really about ‘African culture’ or respect. It is about class, status, wealth and power — about who society permits to speak casually to whom.”
The AAC presidential candidate urged UBA to provide the young woman with support, citing the “enormous public opprobrium, ridicule, and attacks” she has faced online.
“Whatever anyone thinks about how she addressed @TonyOElumelu, no young employee or trainee should be left alone to absorb the psychological consequences of suddenly becoming the target of a massive public controversy,” he said.
“She should not be sacrificed on the altar of corporate hierarchy or social-media outrage. Her dignity, welfare and mental well-being must come first. Let the poor breathe!”